House Speaker Paul Ryan dismissed President Obama’s budget proposal Tuesday as a blueprint for expanding the federal government forever, after the White House released a $4.1 trillion spending plan for fiscal year 2017.
“President Obama will leave office having never proposed a budget that balances — ever,” Ryan said. “This isn’t even a budget so much as it is a progressive manual at the expense of hardworking Americans.”
Ryan’s response was typical of the Republican reaction in the lead-up to the White House budget release. The House and Senate Budget Committees have both declined to hold hearings on the president’s budget proposal, for the first time in decades, and particular policy proposals leaked in advance of the official release were largely rejected by Republicans.
Ryan reiterated his opposition to Obama’s “dead-on-arrival” oil tax. “The president’s oil tax alone would raise the average cost of gasoline by 24 cents per gallon, while hurting jobs and a major sector of our economy. Americans deserve better,” he said. “We need to tackle our fiscal problems before they tackle us. House Republicans are working on a balanced budget that grows our economy in order to secure a confident America.”
